Mazda Dudes and checking for yourself

[barrytheman82]

I felt it necessary to make an account and post regarding my experience with my 2000 MK2 and the Mazda Dudes in Darlington.

I bought this car about 6 months ago and brought it in to them for a bit of work on the brakes a few months back. I asked them while there if they could also check it over, make sure everything is good, sills solid, suspension ok and so forth as there is only so much I can check myself. They are the specialists and live and breathe these cars. They did the brakes, I picked up the car and they said it was a nice solid example, nothing to be worried about. The car then sat in the garage during the bad weather and only came out on dry days to keep everything moving.

I put the car in for the MOT yesterday and it failed due to corrosion. The guy who does the MOT is a friend of mine and still had the car on the lift to show me. Rear sills: screwdriver went straight through and not in a small spot, but quite a large one on the nearside. A huge chunk flaked off freely to leave a large hole. The front rails: clear signs of rot, large holes etc. When I told him I was surprised as they had checked it over a few months back, he simply said “No they didn’t. There is no way they could have missed this”. He also informed me that someone else brought in a light blue MX5 a few months back which they bought directly from them and the rear sills were like damp carboard. Rotten and squishy.

From this I can only conclude they either didn’t check but claimed they did, or didn’t check properly.

Important lesson of the day, check these things yourself! Go watch the youtube videos, take a screwdriver with you! I am determined to fix this car as I have always wanted an MX5, it’s in the right colour and at least I will then know it is sorted that it’s in a good place but if I wasn’t this committed, what else could have been wrong with the car that I wasn’t told about?

[rhino666]

I used to deal with Andy & Mark from Mazdadudes but they mis-described an item I purchased from them some years ago, ecu set with two keys that turned up with one key and then refused to put the matter right; I asked for a tenner refund, they refused.
I am judgmental and have not dealt with them since and left them appropriate feedback at the time.
They present well and appear intelligent, a shame they have extended their lacklustre customer service to something as important as your car structure. I assume you paid them to appraise the vehicle or at least it was a side issue having parted with cash for other work?
Thank you for confirming that my experience and judgment was not personal and may others be warned.

[Scottishfiver]

Difficult to bill a punter on brake job on a potential rot write off.
I’ve witnessed stuff like this for 50 years. Nothing much changes.
That’s how it works I’m afraid.

The moral?
Know Your Car.

[ast]

If you had actually paid them to carry out a corrosion survey, you might have a case to get your money back, but probably not if it was incidental to a brake job.

Anyone buying a NA or NB; if there is any bubbling of paint on the sills, or sill area, its NEVER just surface rust. Its always rusting from the inside out. eg. bubbling paint might be spotted, which is soft to touch. You might even squish it, and it oozes water. Scraping the paint off at first glance reveals clean metal, and someone might conclude paint defect. A closer look reveals at the centre a tiny black hole, a pinhole. The is the first sign the metal has failed. Further scraping might reveal a black circular edge. Pushing in results in a crunch.

It might be a pinhole, but the repair is just the same

[DaveB63]

To the original poster,sorry to hear of your issues with your car. In the past 5yrs of owning my 2.5,I’ve dealt with Andy from Mazdadudes several times and always found him very helpful.
The items I’ve purchased from him were reasonably priced and always dispatched to me quickly.

[Mazda_mender]

And just for reference to the pic Saz as posted, DO NOT EVER EVER rest your roadster on the sill lip edge to work on or lift on it, it is very very bad practice to do so and will cause massive damage ,it is not for jacking on, the jacking points ARE BEHIND the sill lip , not on it.
Please do not do it .
M-m

[barrytheman82]

There was a charge but it was a cash job so no invoice or receipt as well as no write up of findings. I had no reason to distrust them as I was needing the brakes done regardless.

Annoyingly the bit in question wasn’t as per the images, but behind the sill lip at the rear. The fronts, well that I should have been able to spot, had I thought to check for that.

[ast]

FYI, the example is a photo of a car in Japan needing rust repairs. Hence, what you can see of the underside is unsually clean looking.

Yes, leaving a car sitting on axle stands in that way is pretty bad.

[Sumilidon]

Wow. I thought this may have just been me but on reading the OP I’m starting to think I wasn’t just “unlucky”.

I bought a Silver MK2.5 back in March 2021 which was a Cat C. It was only £800 so the plan was to have it until the September and then sell. I went to the Mazdadudes after recommendations on this forum to get the airbag controller replaced / reset and they did a great job, even replaced the centre console with the right one as well as sorted a time-bomb of a start-stop that was wired in.

I went back 2 months later regarding an ABS sensor and while there I asked them to check the car over as I was starting to like it and thought about keeping it beyond September. The guys said it was solid and in a really good condition. Nothing to worry about. As such, I kept it.

In December I contacted them in advance of the busy season to book it back in for February. Here they would give it a check over to see if it would pass an MOT, stick a CAT on it (as the previous guy de-catted it) and also re-align my front bumper as it was missing some clips.

Come February, there was a delay as one of the lads was about to go on holiday but I was under the impression that one of the others was sorting it. I heard nothing and just before the MOT was due I find out it wouldn’t be worked until after the MOT expired. I again re-iterated the need to check it over before doing any work as I didn’t want to spend money on a CAT for a car that would never pass.

4 weeks after giving them the car, they had checked it, found it ok and put on the CAT and rear sensor with a lot of effort due to how badly the De-Cat was done. I then get a call that when they took off the front bumper they found the prior CAT C issue wasn’t fully sorted and there was an issue where the lights may not align.

They said they could try and sort it, again I asked and they confirmed that if they could sort the lights, it should pass as the rest of the car was solid (needed 2 rear tyres). I gave it the go-ahead and they went on to try and sort the front and then took it to the MOT for me.

The car failed the MOT for a brake leak (it burst during test, they couldn’t have spotted that)
The car failed the MOT for the light alignment (which they were going to tweak until)….
The car failed due to BOTH rear sills being rotten.

I booked the appointment on December 16th. I dropped the car off with them Feb 12th. They started the work on it on March 15th. They confirmed 3 times (May 2021 and twice in March 2022) that the car was solid and on March 21st it failed the MOT for rotten sills on both sides. The delay meant it was out of MOT and I couldn’t drive it back, I ended up selling it to them and paying a final bill of £300.

Looking at the original posters comments I am now starting to think I was had and it’s definitely put me off MX5’s for the moment. I certainly won’t be going back to Mazdadudes ever again.

These are the pictures THEY sent me after the MOT

[JimmyHouse]

Wow! It was not just me.

I went there 2 months ago for some work on a 1999 I bought and wanted to know if the car was worth making into a project so asked them to check it over while sorting out some work under the car. They called and said that it had corrosion as expected but that it was solid and must have been done a little while back so should not have any problem in an MOT. I had it tested last week and it failed due to corrosion. The MOT guy stuck a screwdriver through the bottom of the sill and found this to be around 1 foot long down the side of the car behind the lip. When I said I took it to be checked and what they said he laughed as there was no way this had ever been worked on before.

I wish I checked this forum in advance

The car is now in my garage and I’ll be giving welding a go at least, but they certainly took me for a ride to get work and parts out of me.

[MickAP]

Looks like the sills have been repaired before.

[Sumilidon]

Old thread but got an email notifying me of tag.

Yes, the car was 20 years old and you could see that at some point, the sills had been completed. As mentioned, the issue for me was that I had asked them several times, and had it confirmed several times, that the car was fine. I specifically asked them to check the usual corrosion points and whether it would get through an MOT.

Honestly I would never use them again. Rather than just be honest and say either “No we won’t check” or “You have corrosion that may fail it’s MOT”, they went in the complete opposite direction and said it was “Solid” and that the sills had clearly been repaired recently.

Worrying to see another post has been added with a similar experience.

[wacee]

thats bad form from a heralded repairer in the NE…if an outfit did that in a county i know they would be having night visits from guys that they wouldn’t like calling even in daylight… however my first mk2 bought at easter time from south yorks area was cheap low mileage and failed MOT over there due to the worm, i had it booked in with a chap that my painter recommended to do the sills and the chassis legs i supplied the parts, he had it from last sunday and i got her back today only to take to the painter, amazingly he took 54 pics with my camera before during and the finished ready to prime and paint and was very reasonable and very very thorough…my experience is to ask the locals who they would take stuff to then i do have a motortrade background and not so easily fooled esp when the deal has to be photographed, if they won’t do that walk away… no serious experienced skilled man will be afraid to take pics of his skills… he likely will charge you a wee bit more but hey its well worth it… when i saw my mans work i gave him his dough and a bottle of spirits…will

[Mazda_mender]

Sounds like poor experience, lack of knowledge and laziness on their behalf , I have had roadsters turn up for undersealing and knocked them back because of rust repairs that need doing first so that it does not waste the owners money and my time, with videos and pics for proof of what is needed first before the process of protection can be done in all areas.
They have clearly lied and not carried out a proper inspection of her, who ever they are in the scene now?.
Don’t let this experience dishearten you ,not all the of the time served masters of these little pocket rockets are the same buddy.
M-m